VI
Gilbert sat wordlessly next to Stephan Irving, his neck leaning against the firm, upright back of the carriage. Stephan had always seemed to him a somewhat stoic fellow; he'd never really gotten to know him. Thus, the silence that hung in the air between them was uncomfortable-that is, until Stephan broke it with a rather unexpected remark.
He turned to face Gilbert and then said, "You're still in love with her, aren't you?"
Completely taken aback, Gilbert, at first at a loss for words, leaned forward suddenly. "Ex-excuse me?" he finally managed to spit out.
Stephan Irving smiled. "Anne," he said simply. "You still love her."
"I-I heard you," Gilbert answered, still in shock.
Stephan smiled wider. "You're not denying it, are you?"
"No, no-I mean, ye-no. What I meant to say was-how-how did you know?"
"Oh, lots of ways. The way you look at her when she's not watching, how your ears got red when she insisted I take you home, etc. But most telling was how you abruptly ceased our conversation when she announced she wasn't marrying that Roy fellow. Plus, I knew you proposed to her before. My wife's not the only one who's taken an interest in you two." Stephan revealed.
"It was really that obvious?" Gilbert asked, beginning to regain his composure.
Stephan let out a large guffaw. "Both of you!"
"Both of us?" Gilbert raised his eyebrows.
"Were you even awake at dinner? Did you see how embarrassed Anne was when telling us-most accurately, you-about Roy? And she let go of her fork in shock when you said that you and whatever girl she thought you were in love with amounted to nothing."
"You think," began Gilbert slowly, "that Anne is in love with me?"
"Are we taking about the same Anne here? The one who said 'My second greatest mistake' and then looked at you oh so tellingly? I didn't think there was any doubt." Stephan said, shaking his head.
"Whoa, back up. What was so telling about 'My second greatest mistake'? You think she meant--" Gilbert paused, almost unwilling to even bring himself to say the word, "me?"
Stephan simply nodded.
Gilbert leaned back again, letting all the thoughts that were cramming into his head take over his brain. Could Anne really love him? He had thought it might be possible at dinner, but Stephan seemed so certain. Goodness, how many years had his adoration been unrequited? Six? Seven? He didn't even remember anymore, nor did he even care, as long as it was now requited. He wanted nothing more than to see her now, to find out if… But he would wait until morning.
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Author's Note:
Okay, it's really short again. Sorry. I just spent all last night studying for a really hard test on Hamlet for English Lit. Here's a direct quote from my teacher to convey the difficulty level: "The plot isn't the point. It's the itsy-bitsy, microscopic, miniscule, irrelevent details that I'll test you on." Okay, so I added a couple adjectives.
Also the story may seem slightly repetitious. I know where I'm going, though--I will get to the point eventually.
Please review. I love reviews (and I know how you all love writing them).
Just write what you're thinking in that little box down there.
Gilbert sat wordlessly next to Stephan Irving, his neck leaning against the firm, upright back of the carriage. Stephan had always seemed to him a somewhat stoic fellow; he'd never really gotten to know him. Thus, the silence that hung in the air between them was uncomfortable-that is, until Stephan broke it with a rather unexpected remark.
He turned to face Gilbert and then said, "You're still in love with her, aren't you?"
Completely taken aback, Gilbert, at first at a loss for words, leaned forward suddenly. "Ex-excuse me?" he finally managed to spit out.
Stephan Irving smiled. "Anne," he said simply. "You still love her."
"I-I heard you," Gilbert answered, still in shock.
Stephan smiled wider. "You're not denying it, are you?"
"No, no-I mean, ye-no. What I meant to say was-how-how did you know?"
"Oh, lots of ways. The way you look at her when she's not watching, how your ears got red when she insisted I take you home, etc. But most telling was how you abruptly ceased our conversation when she announced she wasn't marrying that Roy fellow. Plus, I knew you proposed to her before. My wife's not the only one who's taken an interest in you two." Stephan revealed.
"It was really that obvious?" Gilbert asked, beginning to regain his composure.
Stephan let out a large guffaw. "Both of you!"
"Both of us?" Gilbert raised his eyebrows.
"Were you even awake at dinner? Did you see how embarrassed Anne was when telling us-most accurately, you-about Roy? And she let go of her fork in shock when you said that you and whatever girl she thought you were in love with amounted to nothing."
"You think," began Gilbert slowly, "that Anne is in love with me?"
"Are we taking about the same Anne here? The one who said 'My second greatest mistake' and then looked at you oh so tellingly? I didn't think there was any doubt." Stephan said, shaking his head.
"Whoa, back up. What was so telling about 'My second greatest mistake'? You think she meant--" Gilbert paused, almost unwilling to even bring himself to say the word, "me?"
Stephan simply nodded.
Gilbert leaned back again, letting all the thoughts that were cramming into his head take over his brain. Could Anne really love him? He had thought it might be possible at dinner, but Stephan seemed so certain. Goodness, how many years had his adoration been unrequited? Six? Seven? He didn't even remember anymore, nor did he even care, as long as it was now requited. He wanted nothing more than to see her now, to find out if… But he would wait until morning.
***********************************************************************
Author's Note:
Okay, it's really short again. Sorry. I just spent all last night studying for a really hard test on Hamlet for English Lit. Here's a direct quote from my teacher to convey the difficulty level: "The plot isn't the point. It's the itsy-bitsy, microscopic, miniscule, irrelevent details that I'll test you on." Okay, so I added a couple adjectives.
Also the story may seem slightly repetitious. I know where I'm going, though--I will get to the point eventually.
Please review. I love reviews (and I know how you all love writing them).
Just write what you're thinking in that little box down there.